Travel Writers, Agencies Design Range Of Family Vacation Trips

June 05, 1988|By Eileen Ogintz, Chicago Tribune.

If you like the Southwest, Pat Dickerman, a travel author, has designed six self-drive trips that might appeal to you. Trips are designed for groups of two to six people driving in their own or a rental car. Some routes are planned for no more than three hours of driving between destinations-about the right amount of time for families with young children. Reservations are all made for you ahead of time.

The trips may include a houseboat cruise on Lake Powell, Utah; a stay at a dude ranch in Moab, Utah; a raft trip down the Animas River in Colorado;

exploring Indian ruins in Mesa Verde National Park, Colo.; or a stay on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Ariz.

The one- and two-week trips are scheduled from mid-June to September. Dickerman said her self-drive packages include ``adventure without camping``

for those who prefer overnight comforts with ``varying degrees of daytime daring.``

If you`re looking for something a little off the beaten track, call Rascals in Paradise in San Francisco, 800-443-0799. They will book a trip especially geared to your family or they will set you up with a small group of three to five families that will include a teacher who will arrange activities for the children.

The trips range from a week in a Caribbean cottage or Hawaiian condo to a cruise to escorted two-week trips through Papua New Guinea to a stay on a working plantation in Fiji to a barge trip through France to a safari in Africa to a Dolphin-searching cruise in the Bahamas.

The prices vary, depending on the destination and whether the trip is escorted. Call Rascals for complete itineraries and prices.

FAMILY TRAVEL GUIDES

For those interested in reading up on various aspects of family travel, get in touch with Carole Terwilliger Meyers at Family Travel Guides.

Meyers, a California-based travel writer, has put together a catalogue of travel books for families.

They cover the country and the world, from a book on where to eat with children in San Francisco to one on exploring New York City with children to a children`s guide to London to a French farm and village holiday guide to a parent`s guide to Tokyo.

Also offered are ``travel papers,`` reprinted articles Meyers has written about specific destinations from Disneyland to Hollywood to Seattle. The articles cost $3 to $4.

Meyers also sells 20 books, games and tips useful on long car trips-stickers, magnetic checkers, tapes of travel and campfire songs and even a book of ghost stories.

The catalogue is available for $1 (credited to a subsequent order) by writing to Carousel Press, Family Travel Guides, P.O. Box 6061, Albany, Calif. 94706; 415-527-5849.

WAGON TRAINS

For American history buffs, consider a wagon train trip across the Flint Hills of Kansas. The weekend trips are offered by Flint Hills Overland Wagon Trips, which has been offering the rides for 10 years.

Participants ride in wagons or a stagecoach (they travel at 2 1/2 m.p.h.), eat meals prepared over an open fire and sleep under the stars. The trips cost $95 for adults, $65 for minors and $70 for trail riders (who must provide their own horse).